It’s high up there!
Wonders will never cease; the USTA finally had its roof in place and gone were any second-week worries about the tournament finishing on time. In addition, the oft-criticised 3-day first round is now a thing of the past so all that is left to reflect on is the tennis itself. And it delivered in no small doses. We had old favourites returning to form, newbies breaking through and people finally realising their potential, all capped off by a new number one in the women’s game, and THAT doesn’t happen too often.
The men’s tournament had some stellar moments; Stan Wawrinka saved a match point as early as the third round when Britain’s Dan Evans pushed him all the way. I had predicted the Swiss would disappoint in New York so I was licking my lips with relish but the now three-time major winner found a way to get through and go all the way to the winners’ circle. After his tussle with Evans, nobody really laid a glove on Stan until he locked horns with Novak Djokovic on the last day of the event. Djokovic himself will never get an easier route to a grand slam final; two of his opponents retired hurt, one of them didn’t even make it onto court and his semi-final opponent produced the most ridiculous last-four performance I can remember for many a year; Gael Monfils believing that playing at walking pace was going to be enough to get past one of the greatest players of all time. This helped the Serb no end as he had come into the tournament with his own niggling physical and personal doubts. As for the final itself, there was a purveying sense that Djokovic had to get ahead and hope to hold on. He managed to edge that first set tiebreak, which included an epic point for the ages but, from then on in, much like at Roland Garros last year, Wawrinka reeled him in and pounded winner after winner down the lines. There has already been talk of a ‘Big 5’ but Roger Federer hasn’t won a major in over four years and it is two and a half years since Nadal won one or even got to the last four. Those two legacies are intact but they should no longer be talked about in the same breath as Djokovic and now Murray and Wawrinka. Stan has three majors to his name, and more cannot be completely ruled out. When he is on, he really is on.
Three-time major winner
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, we were treated to a fine run from Juan-Martin del Potro, who at one point was looking likely to be the man to come through the draw from the bottom half. As it is, a quarter-final result is likely to please delPo supporters and if he can remain injury-free, he will be a force to be reckoned with in 2017, buoyed by an improved ranking too of course. Lucas Pouille and Rafael Nadal produced a match-of-the-tournament contender, with the young Frenchman coming out on top to make his second successive major quarter-final. It was riveting to see Nadal fight like the champion he is but Pouille’s swashbuckling style had too much on the day. Andy Murray’s summer of exertion finally caught up with him and it was refreshing to see Kei Nishikori take advantage of a temper tantrum from the world number two to book a well-overdue semi-final appearance.
The big problem in the men’s tournament was the number of withdrawals or retirements. Every single round through to the quarter-finals had at least one pull-out with a total of nine. It would appear that the tough summer schedule caught up with some guys here. It is well-documented how well tennis players are paid for each round they progress at a grand slam so it is no surprise to see them taking a chance on their fitness. One wonders if it would be wise in the future to bend the schedule a little in an Olympic year.
The women’s tournament delivered a strong fortnight. Angelique Kerber became the new world number one, finally putting an end to Serena Williams’ stranglehold on that position which had lasted for three and a half years. Kerber is a deserved leader of the women’s game; she has won more slams this year than any other player and has defeated her old mental demons. The last few days have transformed her career from being very good to great. The way she hangs in points and then produces bullet winners from impossible angles is a joy to watch and her final against Karolina Pliskova was one of the great finals of this century. Their games pushed the other’s to the absolute limit and it was so good to see Pliskova handle the occasion so well. It was difficult to comprehend how she had never gone beyond the third round of a major before this fortnight but she fair smashed through that glass ceiling in New York. Pliskova’s deep crisp hitting is reminiscent of Lindsay Davenport, something which would have made her more fans at Flushing Meadows had she not dumped out both of the Williams’ sisters in the space of three evenings, her final set tie-breaker victory over Venus the match of the tournament for me (Naomi Osaka’s brave performance defeat to Madison Keys was a close second, but the quality didn’t quite match the drama). It will be interesting to see if the Czech continues on this upward trajectory; her game looks particularly suited to both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.
On top of the world – the new champion is the new world number 1!
Caroline Wozniacki rolled back the years and hit fine form once again in New York, her favourite city. The two-time finalist didn’t quite match her previous best but a semi-final appearance will go some way to regaining lost ground in the rankings race. She was on the brink in the first round against Taylor Townsend but did not look back from then on until she hit a Kerber brick wall in the last four. Ana Konjuh had a breakthrough tournament, knocking out two seeds including Agnieszka Radwanska before coming undone against Pliskova in the quarter-finals. Garbine Muguruza once again disappointed early in the fortnight and will need to go back to the drawing board to regain the momentum she built up with her Roland Garros victory, which already seems an awful long time ago. Serena Williams came into the tournament with concerns over her fitness but she had a good tournament. We forget that this woman is 34 and it still requires somebody to play an inspired match to knock her out; this time it was Pliskova who raised her game magnificently but Serena has had another terrific year.
Holding on tight to a deserved title
Overall, a fine fortnight in the new stadium with some unforgettable matches, a new number one in the women’s game and two new US Open champions. I can’t wait to be a part of it all again next year!
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